Amiruddin Bhai and (below) Amitabh Bachchan in Coolie

Like coolie No. 786, he is a tall, wiry man. But unlike his illustrious counterpart, coolie No. 220 is a real coolie.

For over 30 years, Amiruddin Bhai, a familiar figure in his red uniform at Varanasi railway station, has carried the heavy luggage of passengers on his head. Today, he carries the hopes of a political party.

The 48-year-old is a candidate of Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party in the coming Uttar Pradesh elections.

“He is our best bet and reflects the party’s commitment to empower workers,” the LJP chief and former railway minister says about the man he spotted for his leadership qualities.

The 6-foot-two-inch-tall Amiruddin, who saw the 1983 Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Coolie two years after its release, will contest the election from his native Deoria district. “I never dreamt of even contesting local body polls, but Paswanji has bestowed a bigger honour with far greater responsibility on my shoulders,” he says.

Is he worried? No. He is confident that his “red army” wouldn’t let him down.

“Each of the 56 villages in my constituency has a population of over 25 coolies who are already out to build a wave in my favour.

“I have successfully carried the aspirations of 8.5 lakh coolies of 750 railway stations of India and am confident of fruitfully carrying the hopes of 3.5 lakh voters of my constituency to the Assembly.”

But his feet are firmly on the ground. “I am not out to defeat any particular candidate but all the other candidates have got together to defeat me,” he says.

Unlike coolie No. 786, who was separated from his parents as a child during a flood and later rebelled against the corrupt system, Amiruddin left his village, Belvania, in the early seventies when his father, a sari weaver, sold their house and land after heavy losses.

After wandering here and there, Amiruddin landed in Varanasi and began sleeping at the station. “What can you do at a station to eke out a living? You either steal or earn an honest buck by carrying loads,” he says. “I picked up the latter as my profession.”

Friendly by nature, he caught Paswan’s eye when the minister came to attend a coolie rally in Lucknow in 1997. Paswan, Amiruddin recalls, gave him a warm hug. Soon, he became vice-president of the Akhil Bhartiya Coolie Sangathan, the national union of porters.

“As railway minister, Paswanji did a lot for coolies. He gave them cotton and woollen uniforms and built the extension of their waiting room at Varanasi railway station,” Amiruddin says.

Later, as communications minister, Paswan set up two telephone exchanges in Deoria, including one in Belvania, on Amiruddin’s request and made him a member of the east zone advisory board of his ministry.

Would he give up the bustle of the railway station if he wins the election?

No, says Amiruddin, who still lives with his coolie siblings Aashiq and Sabit at the Varanasi station’s waiting room.

“I am not a filmy coolie, neither coolie No. 786, nor coolie No. 1 Govinda. I am coolie No. 220. Even if I win, I will not give up my profession. And I will wear my red uniform and registration token to the Assembly.”